Of Eccentricity

The world’s population is increasing at a fast pace. So is the variety of people.  Some of them include introvert and extrovert, egomaniac and altruist, cruel and benevolent, believer and atheist.

    

     The most appreciated/ridiculed, yet the least found, is eccentricity. Defined by the Oxford Dictionary as a “a strange and unconventional behavior” being eccentric is damn cool! Having anecdotes being told about them, these people are famous in history. That’s why Crispin Glover once said “Eccentric doesn’t bother me. ‘Eccentric’ is just a poetic interpretation of a mathematical term meaning something that doesn’t follow the lines – that’s okay”.

    
There have been many eccentrics throughout history. One of them was Sir George Sitwell. Once, he was so annoyed by the wasps in his garden that he invented a pistol for shooting them. Another eccentric was Francis Egerton, who threw parties for dogs and ensured that each one of them was dressed in the finest clothes of that time and wore shoes.

     The eccentric who tops the list ‘Heights of Eccentricity’ is Jeremy Hirst, who is said to have declined King George III’’s invitation to tea because he was training an otter to fish. What’s more: he even trained his bull to be a horse to draw his carriage and even trained his pigs as hunt dogs.

     Though eccentricity is the cool quotient nowadays, it reached its current level only in recent times. Once viewed with distrust and often ridiculed, eccentric people were thought to be crazy. If a person said something contradictory to the community’s beliefs, he/she was considered crazy. That’s why Bertand Russell once said “Do not fear to be eccentric, for every opinion now accepted was eccentric”.

     Though the situation regarding eccentricity has improved in recent times, it hasn’t for the average man who is eccentric. Bobby Heeman puts it this way “If you are poor and do something crazy, you are nuts. If you are rich and do something crazy, you are eccentric”.

     Everyone has the right to live according to one’s wish. If we seem to have no problem with Albert Einstein picking up cigarette butts for his pipe, why do we have an issue with our neighbor who talks with his/her pet dog? So, go ahead; be eccentric: it’s your only escape from the mad, mad world!  

Suggested reading 

The Meaning of Life